CLAIREFONTAINE, France (AP) -The pressure is building on France coach Raymond Domenech after a humiliating 3-1 loss to Austria gave Les Bleus a dismal start in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
Domenech kept his job despite a group-stage exit from the European Championships. But anything less than a victory against Serbia at Stade de France on Wednesday could end his increasingly tenuous reign.
France has nine remaining qualifying games in Group 7, which includes Romania, Lithuania and Faeroe Islands.
``We will have to be ready, with will and determination,'' Domenech said. ``We will have to fight until the end.''
In July, the French Football Federation voted to keep Domenech, but it was reported that the federation gave him a target of reaching at least five points from France's first three qualifiers. That means France now has to beat Serbia.
Defender Patrice Evra fears another defeat would seriously hurt the team's chances of reaching a fourth straight World Cup in 2010.
``We took a big slap and we are all disappointed,'' France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda said Sunday. ``But we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to move on.''
France used to have one of the most formidable defenses. Now, it seemingly has one of the weakest, with 11 goals conceded in the past four games. France has not won a competitive match since beating Lithuania 2-0 in October 2007.
Any ball coming into the penalty box these days seems to have defenders in a blind panic. The likes of Arsenal's William Gallas and AS Roma's Philippe Mexes look completely out of sorts playing for France when a corner kick or a free kick comes their way.
Against Austria, two first-half goals from free kicks and a penalty conceded by Mexes negated a lone goal by Sidney Govou, his third in two games and a rare positive for Domenech.
France has not rallied to victory after conceding the first goal since beating Spain 3-1 in the second round of the 2006 World Cup. That team featured Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Franck Ribery, Florent Malouda and Claude Makelele. None played against Austria, and France clearly lacks leadership.
Malouda criticized Domenech in the French press last week and was sidelined against Austria, watching the game from the stands. Others, like Robert Pires, Mexes, and David Trezeguet previously suffered the same fate for daring to speak out against Domenech's tactics or his abrasive personality.
French sports daily L'Equipe summed up the latest poor performance with a front-page headline that read, ``Defenseless.''
French fans are notoriously hard to please at Stade de France - even jeering France off the field before it left for the 2002 World Cup as defending champion.
``I don't know what kind of reception we will get,'' Mandanda said. ``But we hope the whole stadium gets behind us because we need the 12th man.''
